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Lindelof's emergence gives United defensive stability

Monday 5 March 2018 - 11:39am

File: Manchester United's Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho watches as Manchester United's Swedish defender Victor Lindelof takes a throw-in during the English Premier League football match between Manchester United and Chelsea at Old Trafford.

LONDON - Manchester United&39;s title hopes may be over, but Victor Lindelof&39;s long-awaited adaptation to the physical nature of the Premier League has provided the foundation for a potentially successful end to the season.

Jose Mourinho&39;s side head to Crystal Palace on Monday trailing Premier League leaders Manchester City by 19 points.

But although City are out of sight, United could still bring home silverware in the Champions League and FA Cup.

They face Sevilla in the Champions League last 16 second leg on March 13, having drawn 0-0 in Spain, and host Brighton in the FA Cup quarter-finals four days later.

If United are to enjoy a trophy-filled climax, Lindelof could find himself unexpectedly cast as a key figure in Mourinho&39;s plans -- something that looked unthinkable in his early months in Manchester.

After joining United from Benfica in June, Lindelof endured a difficult start with his new club.

His shaky performances in pre-season and in training convinced Mourinho to limit the centre-back to only three appearances in the first two months of the campaign -- and those came in the League Cup and two undemanding European fixtures.

But Palace boss Roy Hodgson is adamant his team are in a much better place than when they were crushed 4-0 by United early in his reign.

Less than three weeks after Hodgson&39;s appointment, Palace lost at Old Trafford to leave them with seven defeats from seven games, having not scored a single goal.

Since then the former England coach has lifted them away from the bottom three before a series of injuries sent them plunging back into trouble.

"I certainly didn&39;t know that we could recover from seven matches with no points and no goals," Hodgson said.

"That we would rally round to get two or three points clear a few weeks ago. I couldn&39;t have predicted that, and the players have made big strides forward in becoming a better team and harder to beat.

"I am certain we can give a better account of ourselves than we did at Old Trafford."